an alternate history pulpy retro-sci-fi space opera planetary romance. It's throttled up rocket packs burning radium on the long blast to the farthest reaches of the Solar System. It's hunting thunder lizards in the upland jungles of Venus. It's battling Ancient Martian killing machines piloted by the Deutsche Marserkorps across the baking red deserts of Mars. Learn more at our website: http://www.cubicle7.co.uk/our-games/rocket-age-2/

I know that Robomen (Heroes of the Solar System) are robotic creations and can't get psychic powers as such, but there are some psychic powers that could represent technological advancements that might be appropriate for this kind of character. Powers like Telekinesis could represent a sort of tractor beam-like ability; Anti-Psi for robomen tasked with capturing psychics (we know that Ancient Martians did create some technology that could dampen psychics... stands to reason they might be able to put such a device in a roboman too); and even Resistance could be used as some sort of energy shielding that can protect the character (though not always reliably).

Now, it is true that not all psychic abilities can be mimicked with technology... which is quite realistic, but some of these abilities can. Now, these won't actually be psychic powers as such... merely technology that mechanically functions in a similar way. A tractor beam that can lift a heavy object (great for construction or rescue operations) may have the same game mechanics as Telekinesis... but functions through technology rather than through psychic means. The effect will be more or less identical, but achieved through different means.

I'm thinking that as a balancing effect, such abilities should cost at least 1 extra character point for each prerequisite ability such a power would normally require (though the Roboman in question doesn't actually get those abilities)... and that such technological wonders should be limited to 1 per character. So while a Roboman could have an advanced energy shield that protects him like Resistance does (depending on which form of energy chosen to be protected against), he doesn't get (nor can he get) the prerequisite Telekinesis power (the emitters that project the protective energy shield are designed for protecting the character, not to project a tractor beam), and this power would cost 3 character points more than what it normally costs for the energy type in question (6 to 7 pts depending on energy type). Even the Ancient Martians likely had a limit to what the could put into a robotic body... even those as advanced as Robomen.

Thoughts on this?

There are three types of people in the world... those who can count and those who can't.

Well, in all fairness, there have been characters presented in the books as having psychic powers who belong to races and sub-casts that actually state that these particular sophonts do not get psychic powers. If these NPCs can be exceptions to the rule that these sophonts don't get psychic powers, why can't PCs also be exceptions too (PCs, by their very nature are exceptional beings).

If exceptions can be made for characters like these... then why not Robomen too? Even if it is a technological equivalent that functions in a similar manner.

There are three types of people in the world... those who can count and those who can't.